One Of The Boys
by Thirteen Again
Summary: So, the gang sets out to find Ray Brower: Gordie, Chris, Teddy, Vern... and JOEY? This is what I think would happen if there was a girl going with the four guys. Believe me, it's better than it sounds... I hope. Happy reading!
1. Chapter 1

YES, I AM NOT DEAD! Anyway, I was watching the movie "Stand By Me" (greatest movie EVER) and I decided to write a story about it, so, eventually, this is what happened. Happy reading, and please review !

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing except Joey.

**CHAPTER 1: JUST A GIRL**

Who was I the summer my life changed forever? I was 13 year old Joey Randall. I remember that first day when I heard about Ray Brower: I was looking at my friend Vern Tessio with my mouth almost on the floor. Around me were my other best friends, Gordie LaChance, Chris Chambers, and Teddy Duchamp, and their faces had similar expressions on them. I shook my head and said, "Vern, could you repeat that? My baseball cap must have blocked my hearing." I took my Red Sox hat off (I had moved to Castle Rock, Oregon, when I was eight from Boston) and shook my hair out, having stray wisps from my ponytail fall in dark brown curls around my face.

Vern had a confused look on his face. "If those hats block out hearing, how come the ballplayers can hear all the instructions the coaches are giving?"

Chris shook his head, exasperated. "Vern, just ask the freaking question again."

Vern held up his hands and said, "Okay, okay." He then cleared his throat and repeated: "You guys wanna go see a dead body?"

Nope. We had heard him loud and clear. Even after Vern explained how he had learned about the whereabouts of the missing teen, Ray Brower, by eavesdropping under his family's porch, we still couldn't believe it.

After a long, painful silence, Teddy broke the silence: "I know the Back Harlow Road! My dad and I used to fish for cossies out there! The train tracks are right there!"

I nodded. "If Brower went blackberry picking… he probably crossed the tracks to get to the forests quicker."

Teddy started to get excited. "Yeah… yeah, and then a train must have come along and," he punched his hand, "el smacko."

We all were silent for a minute, and then Chris, the leader, said, "Hey, guys, I bet if we found Ray Brower, we could get our name in the papers."

I jumped up, nearly hitting my head on the roof of the tree house we were in. "Yeah! We could even be on TV!"

"Sure!" Chris yelled happily.

"We'll be heroes!" Teddy yelled, striking a (what was supposed to look like) heroic pose.

"Yeah!" Chris yelled again.

Vern sighed. "I don't know. What are we going to tell our folks?"

Gordie spoke up for the first time in five minutes. "How about this: we tell all of our folks we're tenting out in your back field, you tell your folks you're sleeping over at Teddy's, and then we'll all say we're going to the drag races the next day. We're rock solid until tomorrow night."

Chris said, impressed, "Man, that's a plan and a half."

Vern, always the whiner, said, "But then when we find him, our folks will know that we didn't go to the drag races and we'll get hided!"

"Nobody will care!" Teddy exclaimed. "Because everyone'll be so jazzed about what we found, that they won't hide us!"

"Yeah!" I said. I was starting to really like this plan.

"Well, my dad'll probably hide me anyway, but hell, it's worth a hiding!" Chris exclaimed. "Let's do it. What do you say?"

"I'm in," Teddy said.

"Gordie?"

"Sure."

"Vern?"

"I don't know."

"Vern…" Chris said in a sing-song voice.

"Come on, Verno," I encouraged him.

When Vern still wouldn't agree, Chris, Teddy and I all ran over and gave him noogies until he finally said, "Okay, okay, I'll do it."

We all cheered, and then Chris turned to me. "How about you, Jo?" he asked, looking at me with hopeful eyes.

Gordie smiled. "Yeah, what would a trip like this be without our best girl?"

Teddy shrugged. "Who else is going to keep us wild and crazy juvenile delinquents in line?"

Vern nodded. "You could sing us another one of those songs you always randomly burst into."

I laughed. These guys knew me all too well. "Of course I'll come, you guys."

We all celebrated the start of our quest to find Ray Brower. The five of us had been best friends since before any of us could remember, even though we were all totally different. I guess that's what made us all work so well together.

Gordie was the quietest in our group. He was smart, soft-spoken, and was only really lively and funny when he was with us. His family life was really kind of tragic: in April of that year, his older brother, Denny, who was the only person other than us that he could lean on for support had been killed in a Jeep accident, leaving Gordie to suffer the wrath of his unsupportive father, and his mother that was totally dominated by his father. Gordie had brown hair that nearly fell into his brown doe eyes, and a sweet, young face.

Chris, as I already mentioned, was the leader of our gang. He was very protective of all of us, and he was always the last to back down in a fight. The way he stood there, facing off against the antagonist with his beautiful blue eyes (that sometimes turned grey) nearly sparking with anger, and his rough yet smooth hands clenched in fists… oh, alright, fine, I admit it: I love Chris Chambers; I have since we were eight years old. I don't know, there was just something about him… a glow that you saw when you looked at him. He also came from a bad family, and every single person in town just knew he'd turn out bad… including Chris. As I mentioned during my random teenager in love moment earlier, he had blue/ grey eyes and buzz cut blond hair. He was one of those people who could be the toughest person ever, and then turn around and be as sweet as anything; his eyes reflected those personalities.

Teddy… oy vey. Teddy was certifiably insane, as far as I could tell. He was pretty wild and crazy, and always bullied poor Verno. He and I had actually "dated" when we were younger, but it was nothing serious: Monday, he loved me, Tuesday he loved a cheerleader, Wednesday he was back, that sort of thing. Still, even though we had "broken up" long ago, I felt like I was the only one who understood him, and believe me; he was not easy to figure out. His family was probably even more screwed up than anybody's: when he was three years old, his father held Teddy's ear to a stove and nearly burnt it off. He was then sent away to a mental institution, and Teddy hadn't heard from him since. Teddy had sandy, shaggy hair with hazel eyes that were hidden behind glasses that were a zillion inches thick. He also had the weirdest laugh I have ever heard in my life. There really aren't any words I have to describe it: it was just Teddy's laugh.

Vern was probably the most well-adjusted out of all of us. He had a relatively normal family compared to us… except for his older brother, Billy. Billy was in with the meanest gang in town, the Cobras. Chris's brother, Eyeball, was in the gang too, and the gang was led by the meanest, most idiotic person in town: Ace Merrill. Vern was the all-around good kid that everyone knew, even if he was a bit of a stick in the mud. I constantly had to protect him from Teddy's dreaded "two-for-flinching" punch that Vern was always receiving. Verno (as everyone called him) was pretty darn tubby, had brown hair and blue eyes.

And me? I was just Johanna "Joey" Randall. Good old Joey, just one of the guys. Joey, whose mom split when she was four years old and hadn't had a girl in the house since. Joey, whose dad had a one night stand with a prostitute which resulted in a new kid brother. Joey, who was the best hitter in town, and the second fastest runner, right behind Chris Chambers. The boys treated me like just another guy whenever we were together, but sometimes, they'd treat me differently if I even hinted that I was a girl. For example, whenever they were talking about how big Annette Funicello's tits had gotten, they always threw in an extra compliment for me, for fear that I would be offended. In fact, I didn't really care if they thought I was a girl or not. When I left on that trip, I was convinced that I would never even want to be anything more than just one of the guys. Well, all that was about to change.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2: FATHER AND DAUGHTER**

Since Gordie and I lived next door to each other, he volunteered to walk me home. I kept on insisting that I wasn't a damsel in distress, I didn't need a security guard with me, but all the boys insisted.

Anyway, as we were walking home, Gordie looked at me. "Joey, what's the deal with you and Chris?" he finally burst out after a long time.

I stopped dead in my tracks. How had he found out? Was I that obvious? Oh, God, did Chris know? "Wh- wh- what're you talking about, Gordie?"

Gordie raised his eyebrows. "Don't play dumb with me, Miss Johanna Randall. I've seen the way you look at him, and the way you talk to him, and the way you always pick him first for baseball teams, and everything else." He laughed. "Joey and Chris, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes-"

"Shut up, I thought you were supposed to be the mature one!" I yelled as I slugged him on the shoulder. Calming myself, I said, "Sorry, I didn't mean to burst out, Gordo. It's just that I know he doesn't like me back, so why waste time with something that's not worth chasing after?"

Gordie looked at me with his soulful brown eyes. "How can you be so sure that he doesn't like you back, Jo?"

"Um, hello? You people are obsessed with Annette Funicello and Marilyn Monroe. They have all the things I don't: grace, style, beauty, tits… femininity," I sighed.

Gordie laughed. "Well, I know for a fact that, even though we may not show it sometimes, all four of us guys would choose you over Annette any day."

I smiled and tousled his hair as we arrived at the walkways of our separate houses. Once I got to my doorway, I yelled what we always yelled to each other: "See ya!"

Gordie yelled back, "Not if I see you first!" as he shut the door.

I shut the door behind me and hung my baseball cap on the coat rack near the door.

"JOOOOOOOOEEEEEEEEYYYYYYY!" I heard my kid brother Mickey scream as he ran across the house (as well as he could run at about two and a half years) to give me a hug.

I couldn't help but laugh. Mickey thought I was the greatest thing since sliced bread, and that was the way he always greeted me. "Hey there, M and M," I laughed, scooping him up and kissing him on his head, which had thick curls of my dad's red hair. I called him M and M because those were his initials: Michael Martin Randall.

I put Mickey down and he started jumping up and down. "Joey! Joey! Joey! Joey! Guess what! I painted a picture of you and Chris and Gordie and Teddy and Vern. Do you wanna see it? Do you?"

"Okay, okay, slow down! You're like a little Mexican jumping bean today, Mick," I said as he dragged me by way of my pinky up the stairs. When he pulled the picture out of his room to show me, I really couldn't see anything except four orange blobs with smiles on them. Thankfully, Mickey felt the need to describe each blob to me:

"Okay, you see this one?" he asked as he pointed to an especially round one. "That's Vern. I put chocolate around his mouth so you could see him better."

Oh. That explained why Vern had a random Italian mustache.

Mickey went on: "And this one with the glasses is Teddy. And the one that's holding hands with you," he said, pointing to two basically identical orange blobs that were joined by a strip of orange, "is Chris."

I nodded. "Um, Mick, which of us is which?" I asked, not wanting to sound mean.

Mickey, however, seemed totally unfazed and just kept on trucking: "The one on the left is you. You see how I put eyelashes on you?" he said, pointing to the three huge black lines coming out of the two blobs of blue that I took to be my eyes. "And then this one is Gordie." Mickey then stepped next to his painting and bowed as I clapped. "Aw, M and M, I love it! I'll go put it up in my room right now," I said as I took the painting off of the easel and took it down the hall to my room.

After I had promised Mickey I would be right back out, I went to my supply drawer, took out some tape, and hung the picture next to my bed. I then started to get ready to find Ray Brower. I got my canteen, my sleeping bag and First Aid kit. As I reached up in the closet to grab my flashlight, something fell out of the box it was in. I reached down to pick it up… and almost started to cry. It was a picture of me with my mother when I was young. I held the picture to my chest and let out a breath. Even though I was only four, I could still remember the day she left:

"_NO, FRANK, I'VE HAD IT!" my mom screamed as she marched downstairs. I snapped my head up from the "Fun with Dick and Jane" book I was reading to see my mom throwing things into a purse and muttering something under her breath. _

"_Mommy? Where are you going?" _

"_I'm leaving here, Johanna. I'm leaving and not coming back." _

_I started to cry. "But I don't want you to leave, Mommy. Why aren't you staying?" _

_My mom sighed. "Johanna… this life isn't right for me. Now, I love you and your father, but that's exactly why I think I should leave; I'm no good for either of you." _

_Just then, my dad appeared on the stairway. "Ruth, please don't leave," he was saying. It was the first time I had ever seen my dad cry. "How will I raise Joey without you?" _

_My mom stiffened. "I've told you a million times, Frank: her name is Johanna. You have to promise me you will raise her like a proper young lady."_

"_I won't raise her that way if it means that she won't be happy. I want her to live her life the way she wants, not the way we want." _

"_She's a child: she doesn't know what she wants." _

_I got mad. I stood up and stomped on the ground with my foot. "YES I DO KNOW WHAT I WANT! I WANT MY MOMMY AND DADDY TO BE TOGETHER AND NOT FIGHT!" _

_My mom shook her head. "Let me teach you one thing before I leave, Johanna: you can't always get what you want." And just like that, my mother was gone. _

_My dad fell on the ground next to me and squeezed me so tight, that I thought my insides would burst. "I promise you now that I will never leave you," my dad sobbed. "And you will always be happy." _

_I hugged my dad back as tight as I could and said, "Daddy, when I grow up, I want to be like those ballplayers you told me about. Can you teach me how to be like them?" _

_My dad laughed and brushed hair out of my face. "When you turn six, I'll start teaching you how to hit, ok?" And we just sat there for the next five minutes holding each other, neither ever wanting to let the other go._

I shook myself out of my trance when I heard Mickey yell, "DADDYYYYYY!" I smiled, ripped the photo in half and threw it in the trash as I ran downstairs to find my dad. When I saw him, and how happy he was, it made feel really proud that I had him for a father. He looked up and smiled the smile he always smiled for me. "How's my Molly Pitcher?" He called me Molly Pitcher for two reasons: 1) He was a big American history buff, and 2) he was the one who taught me how to throw a ball.

"Fine," I smiled as he kissed me on the cheek. "Hey, Dad? Is it alright if I tent out tonight in Vern's back field?"

My dad stroked his beard. "That Tessio kid? The fat one that's obsessed with pennies?"

I cracked up. "Yup, that's him."

"Who else will be there, Jo?"

"Just Chris and Gordie and Teddy. And Vern, obviously."

"Will that jerk-off Ace Merrill be there? You know how I feel about him."

I shuddered. "Dad, if he even sets foot near their house, I'll pack up my sleeping bag and convince the others to camp out in our field."

My dad grinned. "That's my girl. I'm fine with it. You all ready to go?"

Just as I was about to respond, the doorbell rang. "I'LL GET IT!" Mickey yelled as he wobbled over to open the door. I really wasn't quite ready for what he said next, though: "CHRIIIIS!"


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3: HEADING OUT**

I froze, my eyes wide. All I could do was stand there as I listened. "Hey, Mickey, how's it hanging?" Chris asked.

Mickey said, "Come on! You gotta see my new painting! I'll get Joey to see it, too. She's already seen it, but she won't mind. It's in her room. I'll go get her." With that, Mickey dragged Chris into the kitchen, facing me and my dad.

"Hey, there, Chris," my dad said, extending his hand for Chris to shake.

Chris took it and replied, "Hello, Mr. Randall." He then turned to me and said softly, "Hey, Joey."

"Hey, Chris," I replied just as softly. Just when things couldn't get any more awkward, Mickey saved the day by pulling me and Chris up the stairs. As my brother dragged us up, I turned to Chris. "What are you doing here?"

Chris all of a sudden got very defensive and said, "Hey, can't a guy pick up his best friend without it having to mean something?"

"Well, excuse me for being curious, Chambers. I never said it had to mean anything." What was Chris's problem?

Once we got to my room, Mickey turned around. "Joey, can I have a drumroll please?"

I nodded. "Sure thing, Mick." With that, I pounded against my knees as Mickey opened the door and pulled Chris inside. "You see, Chris? You see it? There's Vern and Gordie and Teddy."

"Why is Vern Italian, buddy?"

Mickey sniffled. "That's chocolate, Chris. Don't you see that?"

Before Mickey could begin to cry hysterically, Chris quickly said, "Oh, I'm sorry, Mick. I can see it now. Yeah, I can see." When Mickey still didn't stop sniffling, Chris actually picked him up and held him and whispered, "Shhh. It's alright, Mickey. Don't cry. Chris is here, you're alright." I couldn't help but smile: Chris sure had a way with kids.

Chris then noticed me smiling and faked a tough guy stance. "What are you looking at, Randall?" he asked.

I sighed. "Christopher Chambers, I know you better than that."

Chris laughed (ah, that laugh) and put Mickey down. "How about me, Mickey, where am I?"

Mickey grinned, showing his four teeth. "You're holding hands with Joey. You see?"

Chris stood there with mouth agape. I kind of shuffled off to the side and became very fixated on the flowers adorning the wallpaper. Were those tulips maroon or burgundy?

"That's um… that's a great painting, Mick," Chris finally said. "Why don't you go downstairs? I want to talk to Joey about something private." Oh, God. Why, why, WHY did I like my brother so much that I told him all of my secrets? When Chris and I were left alone, he turned to me. "So… your kid brother is quite the artist, isn't he?"

Whew. I thought we were going to have to talk about…

"Why do you think he painted just you and me holding hands?"

Aw, dang it. "Chris… um… there's something that I kind of have to tell you. I was pretty much hoping that I would never have to tell you, or you would never find out, but there's no sense in avoiding it any longer."

Chris looked at me, confused. "Joey, come on. You know you can tell me anything."

"I know, Chris, I know, but… this kind of goes on a whole other level of trustworthy."

Chris held up his pinky and looked at me with serious eyes. "I swear on my mother's, father's, your, and my grave… I also swear by my pinky… that I will never tell your secret."

I sighed. This was going to be like World War III. "I… I like you, Chris."

"As in… you like me as a friend? You really like me? You love me? You want to be with nobody else but me for the rest of our lives?" he asked.

I actually laughed. "Chris, enough with the jokes."

Chris held up his hands and said, "Alright, alright. No more jokes." He then let out a breath and said, "Joey, um… I can tell that you probably don't want to tell the secret. So, I won't make you spill. I will, however, pester you with it for the entire trip."

I put my hands on my hips. "If you even try to do that, I swear to God, I will knock your front teeth out."

Chris laughed. "Oh, I'm trembling, Jo." Then, he gently punched my shoulder and asked, "So, you got everything you need?"

I nodded. Then a though popped into my head: Shouldn't I bring food? I thought for a minute, and then figured that one of the guys would bring something. I picked up my sleeping bag and slung it over my shoulder. "Ready, Mr. Chambers, sir."

Chris nodded. "March forward, Private Randall." We marched down the stairs. Left, left, left, right, left. Left, left, left, right left. Once we got downstairs, my dad and Mickey were sitting at the kitchen table looking over Mickey's extremely small collection of baseball cards. "Dad, Chris and I are leaving, okay?"

My dad stood up and hugged me. "Be careful out there, Joey. Have fun for your old man, okay?" He then picked Mickey up and held him at eye level to me. "Say goodbye to your sister, Mickey."

Mickey smiled, showing his four teeth again. "Joey, are you going on an adventure?"

I looked over at Chris. "Yeah, Mickey, I guess you could say that," I replied. I then kissed Mickey on the top of his head, did the same to my dad, and walked out the door with Chris.

Gordie came running out of his house to join Chris and me, wearing his brother's Yankee cap and breathing heavily.

"What's wrong with you, Gordie?" I asked, noticing his expression.

Gordie shook his head. "Nothing. My dad was just being my dad again, that's all."

Chris shook his head. "How many times do I have to tell you that your dad is a total, complete, 110%, utter, absolu-"

I sighed. "Chris, we get the point."

Chris continued, not paying attention, "absolute, positively complete ASSHOLE!"

We stood in silence for a minute, and then Chris said, "Well, since we're all going to be walking together, let's stop at the coffee shop over by Maple Drive. I want to show the both of you something."

I got excited. Whenever someone told me about something I couldn't see until later, I became obsessed with finding it. "Oooh, what is it?" I asked.

Chris wagged his finger and smiled. "Eh eh eh, little missy. You're just going to have to wait."

I sighed and headed into town with Gordie and Chris. It was the day before Labor Day in 1959. Little did I know that nothing would be the same between me and my boys again.


	4. Chapter 4

HELLO AGAIN! I'm sorry this chapter took so long to post, I had a horrible case of writer's block, but no matter, I'm back! My reviewers, please don't stop! Keep those reviews coming, they make my day .

**CHAPTER 4: DANGEROUS **

I was panting as I ran behind Gordie and Chris. "Come on, man, what is it?" Gordie asked impatiently. We finally stopped behind a diner. Chris looked around to make sure nobody was watching and pulled a Colt .45 out of his sleeping bag. He turned to Gordie and asked, "You wanna be the Lone Ranger or the Cisco Kid?"

"Walking talking Jesus!" Gordie gasped as he turned the gun over in his hand. "Where'd you get it?"

"Hawked it from my old man's beareau. It's a .45."

Gordie rolled his eyes. "I can see that." He then pretended to shoot the garbage can.

I turned to Chris. "Chris, you sure that bringing a pistol on this trip is a good move?"

Chris shrugged. "Why not?"

I raised my eyebrows. "Do you even know how to fire that thing? What about Gordie or Teddy or Vern?"

Chris looked over at Gordie. "Gordo will be fine. Look at him, he's a natural."

Gordie looked over at Chris and me and asked Chris, "Is it loaded?"

Chris laughed. "Hell, no, who do you think I am?"

At that, Gordie clicked the safety off and pulled the trigger… a bullet flew out and struck the garbage can.

Gordie, Chris and I all screamed at the top of our lungs, "JESUS!" and ran off as fast as we could. "HOLY CRAP!" I was screaming. Hey, not many things scared me, but guns scared the shit out of me.

Chris yelled, "GORDIE DID IT! GORDIE LACHANCE IS SHOOTING UP CASTLE ROCK!"

"SHUT UP!" Gordie shrieked. Behind us, I could hear a woman yelling, "Hey, who did that? Who's letting cherry bombs off out here?"

When we were finally safely away from the diner, I grabbed Chris by the shirt and threw him up against the wall of the pool hall we were outside of. "What the hell was that, huh, Chambers?" I yelled at him. Even though I had a crush on him, believe me, I was PISSED.

Chris was squirming like a worm trying to escape my grip. "Hey, Joey, calm down! Let me go!" I sighed and let him down. After he brushed himself off, he looked at me and Gordie with honest, pleading eyes. "I didn't know the gun was loaded," he said.

I stared at him, hard. "You swear?"

"Yeah, I swear."

Gordie cut in with, "On your mother's name?"

Chris sighed. "Yeah."

"Even if she goes to hell, 'cause you LIED?" Gordie intoned dangerously.

Chris was starting to get extremely annoyed. "Don't get so heavy on me, I swear."

Gordie and I looked at each other and nodded. We both held up our pinkies and ordered, simultaneously, "Pinkie swear."

Chris stifled a laugh and said, "Fine, I pinkie swear."

He interlocked pinkies with both me and Gordie. Then, all of a sudden, behind us snuck up the meanest jerk-offs in town, Ace Merrill, and Chris's brother, Eyeball. Ace reached up and yanked Gordie's Yankee hat off of his head.

"Come on, man, my brother gave me that!" Gordie protested. Oh, shit.

Ace just smirked and continually held the hat out of Gordie's reach. "Now you're giving it to me," he laughed through his mouth with a cigarette hanging from the lip.

"Give it to me! COME ON, MAN, THAT'S MINE!" Gordie screamed at him. Ace just shoved Gordie out of the way.

Finally, Chris snapped. "You're a real asshole, you know that?"

Ace advanced on Chris and I stepped in between them. "You try to hurt him, you're gonna have to go through me, scumbag."

"Ooooh. Not very polite, are they, Eyeball?" Ace asked, turning to Eyeball.

Eyeball just laughed menacingly. "Now, Christopher, and Johanna, I know you didn't mean to insult my friend."

I scoffed. "Jeez, Eyeball, I didn't know you were smart enough to know that was an insult."

With that, Eyeball shoved me to the ground and pinned me there, and Ace did the same to Chris. "Oh, shit," I murmured as Eyeball lit a cigarette and held it up to my face.

"Take it back kid," Ace whispered dangerously in Chris's ear.

I fought to keep Eyeball off of me, but he just held me down even harder. "Let me up, you assface," I mumbled as he nearly shoved my face into the sidewalk.

Gordie was just standing at our side yelling, "Come on, cut it out!" Who that was directed towards, I never quite figured out. I looked over at Chris. He was still going strong, but I was starting to lose steam. Finally, I gave up. "I take it back, okay, just leave Chris alone!"

Eyeball sneered. "There's a good little girl." He yanked me up and shoved me. "Go home and practice your little pirouettes, okay little lady?"

I stuck my tongue out at him and turned back to Chris. "Chris, come on, man, just take it back," I urged him.

Chris finally relented. "Okay, okay, I take it back!" he yelled as Ace yanked him back up.

"Now, I feel a whole lot better about this, how about you?" Ace smirked. He lightly slapped Gordie on the cheek as he stalked away.

Eyeball followed closely behind with a, "See ya later, girls," and a confident walk away with Gordie's beloved Yankee cap hanging on his head backwards.

I sighed. "Chris, your brother is a total, complete, 110%-"

"Don't steal my line!" Chris said playfully as he put a hand on my shoulder.

Gordie laughed, and we set off yet again. That was the way we always dealt with any encounter with Ace, Eyeball, Billy Tessio (Vern's brother) or any other member of the Cobras: after they had had their fill of tormenting us, we would joke about it to forget it had ever happened.


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5: ON THE TRACKS**

After we met up with Teddy and Vern, I finally exploded and told them all the story of the gun and Gordie's great skill with it.

Vern, ever the pussy, said, "Well, what do we need a pistol for, anyway?"

"It's spooky sleeping out at night in the woods. We might see a bear," Chris explained. He turned to Gordie and quipped, "Or a garbage can."

I laughed, and Gordie eyed me knowingly. I cleared my throat and turned away towards Vern. I noticed something coming out of his pocket. "Hey, Verno, what's that in your pocket?" I asked.

Vern grinned, obviously proud of himself about something. "I brought a comb!" he said, producing the small, yellow, plastic object from his pocket.

Chris eyed Vern. "What the hell are we gonna need a comb for?"

Vern looked a tad crestfallen. "Well, if we get on TV, we wanna look good, don't we?"

Gordie rolled his eyes. "That's a lot of thinking, Vern."

Vern grinned, "Thanks!"

I sighed. Poor Vern just hadn't quite grasped the concept of sarcasm yet. Which was really sad, since he was the subject of everybody's sarcasm, and had been since anyone could remember.

Finally, we arrived at the train tracks. "How far do you think it's gonna be?" I asked.

Chris cocked his head to the side and studied the tracks, long and hard. "If we take the tracks all the way into Harlow… it'd be about 20 miles. That sound right to you, Gordo?"

Gordie nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, it might even be 30."

Vern sighed. "Jeez, maybe we should just hitchhike."

Teddy scoffed, "No way."

"Why not?" Vern asked as we started walking, trying to plead his case as best he could. "We could hitch to that street by the Shiloh church, then down the Back Harlow Road; we'll be there by sundown!"

"That's pussy," Teddy explained, finalizing the issue.

"Hey, it's a long ways," Vern grumbled as we walked along.

"Did your mother ever have any kids that lived?" Teddy asked.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

I sighed and turned back to the both of them. "Will you two just shut up and enjoy the trip?"

"Enjoy the trip, sure. Shut up? Not a chance," Teddy laughed.

I rolled my eyes and smiled as we walked on. We walked for a couple hours, singing the theme from "Palladin" all the way. Then, Vern asked the $64,000 question: "Hey, I'm hungry, who's got the food?"

Teddy stopped dead in his tracks. "Oh, shit! Did anybody bring anything?"

Chris shrugged. "Not me. Gordie?"

Gordie shook his head. "How about you, Joey?"

I put my hands on my hips. "What the hell am I, your food wench?"

"Oh, great. That's just great," Teddy sighed. "What are we supposed to do? Eat our feet?"

Chris looked shocked. "You mean you didn't bring anything either?"

"Well shit, this wasn't my idea! This was Vern's idea!" Teddy then advanced on Vern. "Why didn't you bring something?"

"What am I supposed to do, think of everything? I brought the comb!" Vern defended himself, holding the comb for all to see.

"Oh, great, what did you bring a comb for? You don't even have any hair!"

"I brought it for you guys!"

"HEY, HEY, HEY, HEY, HEY!" Gordie yelled, breaking the scuffle between Vern and Teddy. "Let's see how much money we got," he suggested, and we all sat down and emptied our pockets. "I got $1.02," he said. "$0.68 from Chris… $0.60 from Teddy… $0.45 from Joey…" We all looked at Vern. Vern dejectedly put his money in Gordie's hand. Gordie counted it all up. "…. $0.07, Vern?"

Vern shrugged. "I haven't found my pennies yet."

Gordie shook his head. "Well, $3.45's not bad. Quidicello's is just down the road, past the junkyard. We can get some stuff there while we're refilling our canteens at the junkyard."

"Train coming," Chris warned. We all leapt off the train tracks as fast as we could, even though the train was still a ways away. All of us jumped off the tracks… except Teddy.


	6. Chapter 6

I AM SO SORRY! My last day of school was yesterday, and I had finals the week before that, but since it's summer, I will be updating MUCH more often. Soooo, HERE GOES!

**CHAPTER 6: A REALLY GREAT TIME**

At first, we all just stood there; we figured Teddy would jump off the tracks sooner or later. But a few minutes went by… and Teddy didn't move. "Teddy, come on, quit messing around," I scolded him.

Teddy shook his head. "No." He threw his sleeping bag over to us. "I'm gonna dodge it."

Chris (who always was the most adamant that Teddy would stop being so crazy) said sternly, "Teddy, come on, man. Get off the tracks, man, you're crazy!"

Teddy, however, just ignored us. He seemed to be off in his own world. He kept on murmuring, "Train dodge. Dig it."

Gordie, Vern, and I were just looking back and forth at each other not knowing what to do, but Vern was the only one ready to spring into action. "Get the hell off the tracks, Teddy! Do you want to get yourself killed?"

Teddy just kept on ignoring us. "Just like the beach at Normandy," he whispered, and started firing an imaginary machine gun. _Oh, God, not the Normandy thing again_, I thought to myself. You see, before Teddy's father went totally off his rocker, he had stormed the beach at Normandy. That was the only shred of evidence that Teddy had that his father had once been normal, and he clung to that fact with everything he had in him.

Finally, Chris leapt into action. He dashed onto the tracks and wrestled Teddy off of the tracks just as the train passed by. My heart leapt into my throat as I watched the train run behind the heads of Chris and Teddy as they fist fought and Gordie and Vern broke it up. I ran in and stepped between the both of them. "STOP IT, THE BOTH OF YOU!" I screamed as the train rumbled past.

Teddy screamed angrily, "I COULD'VE DODGED IT!"

Chris screamed back, "I WAS JUST TRYING TO SAVE YOUR ASS, MAN! DO YOU WANNA KILL YOURSELF? IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT, GODDAMNIT? YOU TRIED TO KILL YOURSELF!"

We all sobered up after Chris said that. Teddy really could have killed himself if Chris hadn't saved him. "Teddy, we almost lost you for good," I gently reminded him.

Teddy glared at me. "Stop being such a girl, Randall." With that, he turned to Chris and snarled, "I don't need no babysitter. I could've dodged it," he murmured as he started to stalk off.

Chris ran up and grabbed Teddy's arm. "Listen, Teddy, you can dodge it on the way back, man." He then held out his hand. "Peace. Skin it."

Teddy paused for a while, and then skinned Chris's hand. We all picked up our bags and started to set off once more. As we walked, Chris stood near me. "I'm sorry about what Teddy said. About you being a girl and all."

I shrugged. "Hey, I can't help my gender."

Chris laughed and put his arm around me in a kind of half hug. "That's why I love you, Joey," he said, and he ran off to catch up to Gordie. Is there such a thing as a Cloud 10? I backed up to walk with Teddy and Vern, and Teddy noticed how happy I was. "You got some laughing gas in you or something, Joey?" he asked.

I said, "Shut up, Duchamp," and punched him in the elbow.

Vern turned to Teddy. "See, now how come she gets to punch you?"

Teddy just shrugged. "She's a girl. Didn't your mother ever teach you that it's not polite to hit women?"

I laughed. "Theodore Duchamp, you are a maniac."

Again, we just kept on walking, until we finally reached the junkyard owned by Milo Pressman. No self-respecting kid in Castle Rock went near that place because, not only did Milo live there, but so did his dog, Chopper. Milo had not only taught Chopper to sic, but specific parts of the male anatomy, so any guy who was trying to escape the junkyard would hear the cry, "CHOPPER, SIC BALLS!" I, however, did not fall under this particular category of juvenile, so Chopper didn't even so much make me shudder. When we finally arrived at the junkyard, neither Milo nor Chopper were anywhere in sight; there were just tons and tons of broken down and rusty cars. "Well, Vern, looks like your mom's been out driving again," Gordie dryly commented.

Vern scoffed, "Oh, very funny."

"STAND BACK, MEN!" Teddy yelled as he tossed his sleeping bag over the fence like a bomb. He made an explosion sound, and then yelled, "PARATROOPS, OVER THE SIDE!" He and Vern leapt over the fence, but Chris, Gordie and I stayed back, watching Teddy and Vern run off. Finally, we scaled the fence. When we landed, Gordie voiced all our thoughts: "Teddy's crazy."

I raised my eyebrows. "You're just realizing that now, Gordo?"

Chris laughed. "He probably won't even live to be 20, I bet."

"Remember that time you saved him when he almost fell out of the tree house?" Gordie asked as we started walking.

Chris grew a bit pensive for a minute. "Yeah. You know, I dream about that sometimes. Except in the dream, I always miss him; I just get a couple of his hairs and down he goes."

I put my hand on his shoulder. "But you didn't miss him. Chris Chambers never misses, does he?"

Chris smiled. "Not even when the ladies leave the seat down." He and Gordie both laughed then. Why, I really don't know.

I raised my eyebrows. "Do I really want to know what that means?"

Gordie shook his head. "You'd just say we were perverts."

I nodded. "I'll take your word for it."

Chris then turned to Gordie. "Wanna race, man?"

"Nah, I don't wanna," Gordie said.

"Oh, come on, man, right to the pump!" Chris pleaded.

"No, I don't think so- GO!" Gordie yelled as he and Chris broke into a run. I decided to just make a little mischief and join in without them knowing.

"YOU ARE A DEAD MAN, LACHANCE!" Chris yelled as he tried to catch up to Gordie. "IT LOOKS LIKE LACHANCE HAS HIM THIS TIME!"

I finally caught up with the two of them and yelled back, "NEITHER LACHANCE NOR CHAMBERS, HOWEVER, COUNTED ON JOEY RANDALL JOINING IN THE FRAY!" I passed by Chris and was now inching out ahead of Gordie.

"BUT WHAT'S THIS?" I heard Chris yell from behind us. He passed Gordie as he yelled, "CHAMBERS IS MAKING HIS MOVE! HE COULD GO ALL THE WAY!"

I blew out some air and yelled, "RANDALL AND CHAMBERS ARE NECK AND NECK! THE FINISH IS IN SIGHT, AND IT'S…" my foot arrived at the pump three seconds before Chris's did. "**RANDALL AT THE TAPE!** THE CROWD GOES WILD!"

Vern and Teddy, who were filling their canteens with water from the pump, gave an unenthusiastic, "Yay." Gordie, Chris and I all leaned down to catch our breath. "So, what do you think of that, Chris," I panted. "Beaten by a girl."

Chris let out a breath and said, "I don't see it as that. I just lost my standing as the town's fastest runner, that's all."

Gordie grinned. "Joey, he's never going to speak to you again." He shook his head in mock disappointment. "You've broken up the Furious Five forever, Johanna. I hope you're happy."

"Shut your trap, Gordo," I laughed. We all stood upright again and I held out my hand to Chris. "No hard feelings?"

Chris smiled (gah, that smile…) and skinned my hand. "Not a chance, Joe." We then walked over to sit with Teddy and Vern to sit around and talk. I think that was what I liked most about our friendship: we could just talk.

"So, you guys been watching "The Mickey Mouse Club" lately?" Teddy asked.

We all agreed, and then Teddy said, "I think Annette's tits are getting bigger."

Vern looked surprised. "You think so?"

Gordie said, "Yeah, I think so. I've been noticing lately that the "A" and the "E" are starting to bend around the sides," and he lifted his hands up to give a general estimate of just how big Annette Funicello's tits were. This gained huge laughs from all of the boys, but a withering glance from me.

Chris said, "Hey, guys, I've actually noticed something: Joey, you're not looking so bad yourself." He glanced at me, nervous as hell.

Gordie scrunched up his eyebrows, the way he always did when he was observing something. "Actually, Joe, Chris is right."

Teddy and Vern actually burst out laughing, and Teddy gasped through his laughter, "Joe, you're actually going to let them talk about you like that to your face?"

I shrugged. "I always expected it sooner or later." I punched Gordie on the shoulder and said, "Even sweet innocent little Gordon LaChance had to fall to the male sex drive sooner or later."

Everyone burst out laughing. "This is really a great time," Vern remarked.

"The most," Chris agreed.

"A blast," Teddy laughed.

I actually don't remember how we all knew Vern was right, but for some underlying reason, we all knew.

Once again, Teddy made some degrading remark about Vern's mother, and to defend him, we all ended up in a dog pile, wrestling. After we picked ourselves up off the dirt, I asked, "Hey Gordie, you got the time?"

Gordie checked his watch. "Um, about 1:30."

Vern said, "We better hurry up and get the food. Junkyard opens at 3:00. Chopper will be here."

Chris laughed, "Oooh, sic balls!"

I looked around at all of them. Of course none of them would risk being caught by Chopper. I sighed, "I'll do it, I'll do it."


	7. Chapter 7

OH MY GOD, I AM SO SORRY THIS CHAPTER TOOK SO LONG TO UPLOAD! All of my reviewers, please don't abandon this story, your reviews make my day! OK then, here we go.

**CHAPTER 7: A LOONY'S SON AND A FREAK OF NATURE**

I stepped into Quidicello's with all of our money pooled together in my pocket. Mr. Quidicello was standing at the counter weighing hamburger meat. I grabbed some Coke off of the shelves, as well as some smore fixings, before stepping up to order some hamburger meat.

Mr. Quidicello looked up at me. "Hey, aren't you Joey Randall?" he asked with a bit of amazement in his voice.

I nodded. "Yup."

Mr. Quidicello grinned. "I saw you catch that fly ball in the Little League game on Sunday. Don't know what those boys would do without you."

I laughed. "Thanks, Mr. Quidicello."Then, out of nowhere, Gordie stepped into the store. "What the hell are you doing in here, Gordie?"

Gordie shrugged. "The guys wanted me to make sure nothing happened to you." He waggled his eyebrows. "Chris most of all."

I growled and walked away, mumbling, over to the magazine rack. As I watched Gordie buy hamburger meat from Mr. Quidicello, I browsed through the magazine covers. Everywhere, I saw them: images of the girl every mother wanted… or at least, my mother wanted. They had big eyes, ruby red lips, perfectly coifed hair, and probably couldn't throw a fastball a foot even if they tried. I scoffed and grabbed one off the rack anyway; it'd be good for the boys, plus give me hours of entertainment as I laughed at how ridiculous they made the girls.

I heard Mr. Quidicello saying something: "I remember when your brother played pro ball. Man, could he throw. Father, God and Sonny Jesus."

Oh no. I knew Gordie hated it whenever someone brought up his brother. I walked over and took his hand. "I've got all the money, Gordo. I'll pay," I told him gently.

Gordie nodded, and walked over to the door. I paid Mr. Quidicello, and the two of us walked out of the store. We walked through the junkyard… but we couldn't find the boys anywhere. "HEY! WHAT'RE YOU KIDS DOING IN HERE?" we heard the voice of Milo Pressman scream. Gordie and I looked at each other. "Oh, shit," we said at the same time, and sprang into a run. Up ahead, we saw the boys leaning against the fence, screaming for us. Chris, I could see, was especially worried.

And then… "CHOPPER, SIC 'EM! SIC 'EM, BOY!"

Now, as I said before, I wasn't too worried about Chopper; I, after all, had no balls for him to sic. But I kept running like the wind just the same. I finally reached the fence, and I climbed over. Chris took my face in his hands. "Johanna," he said, paranoid, "are you alright?" I could really tell he was worried, because he used my full name.

"I'm fine, Chris, I'm okay," I breathed. Then, I remembered: "GORDIE! KEEP RUNNING, MAN!"

Gordie told me years later that he knew that Milo had said, "Sic 'em, boy," but what he had heard was, "Chopper, sic balls." Gordie finally reached us, screaming like a banshee, and vaulted over the fence. When the dust finally cleared, we saw the legendary Chopper in the flesh. He was a terrifying, vicious… golden retriever.

I couldn't help it; I burst out laughing. "I was such a pussy!" I remarked as I approached the dog. I had always really liked animals, especially dogs. "Hey there, Choppy," I whispered as I let him lick the tips of my fingers.

Of course, the boys couldn't be as gentle with little Chopper as I was, and they all immediately began taunting him "Hey, kiss my ass, Choppy! Kiss my ass! Bite shit!" Teddy screamed in delight as he shook his butt in Chopper's face.

"HEY, YOU KIDS!" Milo yelled as he ran over to us. "Stop teasing that dog, you hear me?"

"Hey, shut up, man," Teddy laughed.

"Dear God, here we go," I murmured to Chris, and he stifled a laugh.

"Don't you talk back to me, you little tin weasel. Peckerwood loony's son!"

We all froze. Oh, he did not just say that. Teddy went from laughing hysterically, to just becoming a stone mask. "What did you call me?" Teddy whispered.

Milo said smugly, "I know who you are. You're Teddy Duchamp; your father's a loony up in the nuthouse in Togus. He held your ear to a stove and burnt it off!"

"My father stormed the beach at Normandy," Teddy said numbly.

"He's crazier than a shithouse rat!" Milo yelled.

"You call my dad a loony one more time, and I'll kill you," Teddy warned, his hands clenching into fists.

"Loony, loony, loony…" Milo said in a sing-song way.

That did it. Teddy screamed and leapt onto the fence. "I'M GONNA KILL YOU! I'M GONNA RIP YOUR HEAD OFF AND SHIT DOWN YOUR NECK!" he was screaming as Chris and Gordie yanked him down.

Milo shook his head. "Bring him back! Let the kid fight his own battles!"

Gordie scoffed, "Sure, you only outweigh him by 200 pounds, FATASS!"

Milo pointed at Gordie. "I know you: you're LaChance! I know all of you guys!" His eyes then fell on me. "And you… ought to be ashamed of yourself, young lady."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" I asked angrily.

"You know damn well what it's supposed to mean! You're never hanging out with girls. Always running around with boys, playing baseball." He grinned evilly. "It's obvious why your mother left; she didn't want a freak of nature for a daughter."

Now, keep in mind, I was well known and liked by boys all around the town. It had never occurred to me that I had absolutely no girl friends, or had since I moved to Castle Rock. So, maybe the Press Man did not quite understand: I couldn't stand girls.

"What the hell are you talking about, fatass?" I asked Milo as I got ready to scale the fence to pound the crap out of him.

"You heard me. Maybe it's not that you don't like hanging out with other girls; maybe the mothers keep their daughters away from you." He then leaned close enough to my face that I could smell the alcohol practically sweating off of him. "If you like boys so much, you think you might be a slut?"

I then pulled a Teddy. "STAY AWAY FROM ME!" I was screaming as I almost leapt over the fence.

Chris, once again, yanked me off of the fence. "Why don't you just leave us and go play with your dog?" Chris yelled at him.

Milo shook his head. "All of your fathers are going to be getting calls from me!" he yelled at us. He then brought his face dangerously close to Teddy's and whispered, "Except for the loony up in Togus."

Once again, Teddy screamed bloody murder, but Chris dragged him away before anything happened. Teddy was still screaming, "MY FATHER STORMED THE BEACH AT NORMANDY! HE STORMED A BEACH, YOU F*****!"

I didn't know about Teddy over there, but I was pretty shaken from Pressman calling me a slut. I mean, I know what you're thinking: why should I care what a fatass hobbit thinks about me? To be honest, I really didn't know why I cared. Anyway, as we walked away from the junkyard, at least I wasn't a weeping mess like Teddy was.

"Teddy, shhh, hush. It'll be okay," I soothed him as I helped Chris comfort him. One of Chris's other perfect attributes: he was a pillar of support in times of crisis.

Teddy cried, "He ranked my old man… he ranked my old man," over and over again. That poor boy, I felt so sorry for him.

Chris looked up from comforting Teddy and focused on me, with his blue-grey eyes awash in concern. "Joey, you alright?"

What I wanted to happen: I burst into tears, and Chris wrapped his arms around me, kissed me, and told me he didn't care what other people thought, that I was his girl, and nothing could ever change the way he loved me.

What really happened: I shook my head. "I'm fine, Chris, really." Chris apparently didn't hear me, let go of Teddy for a moment and hugged me. "We all still love you, Joe. You have to know that," he whispered in my ear.

"_Oh, Chris, you don't get it,"_ I thought to myself. "_I know they love me, and I know you love me… but are you IN love with me?"_


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER 8: WALKING, WALKING, WALKING…**

After Chris had let me go, I said to Teddy, "Don't worry about what that slob says about your father, Teddy."

Gordie nodded. "He still stormed the beach at Normandy, right?"

Teddy shook his head and murmured, "Forget it, alright?"

Verno just kept on pressing. "You think that pile of shit was at Normandy?"

Teddy said, a little louder, "Forget it."

Vern once again ignored him. "He don't know nothing about nothing, he's just dog shit."

Chris agreed. "Whatever's between you and your old man, he can't change that."

Teddy then nudged Chris's hand off of his shoulder and yelled, "Forget it, alright? Just forget it!"

We all walked in silence for a while, then Vern burst in with, "_Have gun, will travel, reads the card of a man/ A night without armor in a savage land…" _he trailed off after Chris gave him a look.

Teddy stopped while the rest of us kept walking, and we all turned around to face him. "Sorry if I'm spoiling everybody's good time," he said apologetically.

"It's fine, Teddy," I said, and Chris put a hand on his shoulder.

"Maybe it shouldn't be a good time," Gordie remarked thoughtfully.

"You saying you want to go back?" Chris asked.

"No," Gordie said quickly, "but… going to see a dead kid… maybe it shouldn't be a party."

Vern nodded. "Yeah. Like, if he's really gross and has blood and shit all over him… I might have nightmares."

Chris rolled his eyes. "Shut up, Vern."

Vern must have been hard of hearing or something, because he never shut up when people told him to. He kept on babbling about disgusting things until Chris finally yelled, "SHUT UP VERN, GODAMMIT!"

We kept walking for a long time, and pretty soon, the melancholy air had lifted, and we were back to being jokesters again. Still, what Milo said about me being a slut was really starting to get me thinking: was that what everybody thought of me? Did Gordie think of me that way? Did Teddy? Did Vern? And, horror of horrors… did Chris?

I was walking in between the pairs of Chris and Gordie, and Teddy and Vern. I lagged back so I could walk with Gordie and Chris. "Hey, Chris?" I asked, praying I sounded more confident than I felt.

Chris asked, "Everything ok, Joey? You seem a little… off."

Oh my God, this was the sweetest boy in the world. I put my hands in my pockets. "You… you and the others don't think I'm… you know, do you?"

Chris sighed, as if he thought I should know better, and put his arm around me. "Listen to me, Johanna Susan Randall: I swear on a stack of Bibles; we would never, EVER think such a thing about you. And if any bitch or son of a bitch thinks they can get away with trying to hurt you, they're going to have to go through me and the boys." He paused. "You aren't though."

I nodded. "Right."

Chris smiled, and looked as if he were about to say something. He then paused, and shook his head.

I looked at him, trying to figure out what was wrong. "Were you about to say something, Chris?"

Chris shook his head. "Nah, it's nothing."

I sighed, "Sure," and walked away. From behind me, I could hear Chris and Gordie talking about college courses, and where they wanted their futures to take them, while in front of me, I could hear Teddy and Vern arguing over whether or not Mighty Mouse could beat Superman in a fight. I smiled to myself.

I then saw that Chris and Gordie had stopped long before, and Teddy, Vern and I were way ahead of the both of them. "Come on, you two!" I yelled, waving for them to hurry up.

Teddy yelled, "Yeah, by the time we get there, the kid won't even be dead anymore!"

I turned to Teddy. "Really? You have a comeback that doesn't even make any sense?"

Teddy said, "Oh, it was the best I had." I slugged his arm and we all kept walking in a large clump. Finally, we reached the biggest obstacle any of thought we would face on the trip: the train tracks running over the river.


	9. Chapter 9

Before I begin, the title of this chapter came from a comment from the author Azzyness. I saw it in the comment and thought, "Oh my God, that is PERFECT!" so, thank you Azzyness, and thank you to all of my dear reviewers! Now, ONWARD!

**CHAPTER 9: OH SHIT, THERE'S A TRAIN**

We all stood silently for a moment. Chris broke the ice: "Anybody know when the next train's due?"

"I'm not sure," Gordie, the only one with a watch, answered.

Chris said, "Why don't we go around the tracks?"

Teddy looked at Chris, shocked. "What? If you go the extra ten miles around the tracks, you gotta walk ten miles back. That could take until dark. We cross here, we could get to the same place in ten minutes."

Vern shook a bit. "Yeah, but if a train comes, there's nowhere to go."

Teddy scoffed. "Like hell there isn't; you just jump!"

Chris was shocked. "Teddy, it's 100 feet!"

I nodded fervently. "And 100 feet into a gorge! Teddy, you've pulled some stunts before, but this is plain old ridiculous!"

Teddy shook his head. "Look, you guys can do what you want. I'm crossing here. And while you four are dragging your candy asses halfway across the state and back, I will be on the other side, relaxing with my thoughts.

Gordie had an expression on his face that made him look like he was trying to figure out something really difficult. He asked Teddy, "Do you use your left hand or your right hand for that?"

Teddy smirked. "You wish," and he began crossing. Chris looked over at Gordie, Vern and me, and began following Teddy. "Oh, for the love of Pete," I muttered, and I tentatively stepped out onto the tracks. The spaces between those slats of wood were really freaking me out. What if my foot got caught in one of them and I couldn't run when and if a train came? Because of this, I would always wince when I set my foot on another slat.

We walked like this for a couple minutes, Teddy and Chris in front, me, Gordie, and Vern crawling behind pathetically. When I heard a splash all of a sudden, I whirled around expecting the worst. However, Vern was still on his hands and knees, looking up at Gordie. "I lost the comb," he whispered with tears in his voice.

Gordie sighed, "Forget it, Vern." Teddy and Chris rolled their eyes. I just couldn't stifle a giggle, but quickly shut up when Vern eyed me. I turned back around, and began walking once again. Hey, cool, I was almost halfway! And then….

"TRAAAAAIIIIIN!" I heard Gordie shriek from behind us. We all whirled around and saw a steam locomotive careening towards us. For a moment, we just stood still, frozen, not knowing what to do.

"Oh, shit," Vern said as he began to crawl like there was no tomorrow. The minute he said that, we all snapped to attention. "RUN!" Chris yelled as he and Teddy (who were already ¾ of the way there) dashed off at lightning speed. I panted as I broke into a mad dash. I could hear Gordie and Vern yelling at each other to move their asses, when my worst fear was realized: my left foot got caught in one of the spaces between the slats, and I fell. I couldn't free myself, no matter what I did. I was screaming, "GORDIE! VERN! DON'T WORRY ABOUT ME, KEEP MOVING!"

Chris then noticed me. I saw an expression of total, unadulterated fear on his face. He screamed, "JOEY!" He threw off his sleeping bag and dashed back onto the tracks. "CHRIS, GO BACK!" I yelled at him.

"NO WAY IN HELL!" he yelled back as he moved my leg every which way to try and free it. And the train was inching closer and closer…

"FORGET ABOUT ME!" I screamed one last time.

Chris looked at me with frustration and fear etched on his face. "I'M NOT QUITTING YOU!" he yelled as he finally freed my foot. Instead of letting me run, which I was in perfect shape to do, thank you very much, he lifted me up and we dashed off together, me leaning on his shoulder.

Chris sat me down on the gravel. "Johanna Susan Randall, don't EVER scare me like that again," Chris panted.

Teddy yelled, "HOLY SHIT, YOU GUYS!"

We turned back just in time to see Gordie and Vern leap off the tracks down into the gorge below.


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER 10: SETTING UP CAMP**

Teddy, Chris and I stood looking down at the gorge, paralyzed with fear. Then, suddenly, we heard coughing. We ran over and saw Gordie and Vern lying in a heap. They were covered in dust, and a tad shaken, but they were alive.

"Hey," Chris said, "at least now we know when the next train is due."

I rolled my eyes and ran over to poor Vern and Gordie. "You alright you two?"

Gordie nodded. Vern panted, "Told you we should have just hitchhiked."

I shook my head and laughed as I helped them up. The four of us then set off again. A couple hours later, we set up camp in the middle of the forest, took out the hamburger meat we had bought, and began roasting it over the fire. "That was the all-time train dodge. Too cool!" Teddy commented as we were talking. He turned to Vern and laughed. "Vern, you were so scared, you looked like that fat guy, Abbot Costello, when he saw the mummy."

Vern shrunk down a bit, but said defensively, "I wasn't that scared."

Gordie commented dryly, "Ok, so you won't mind if we check your Jockeys for Hershey squirts?"

Vern scoffed, "Go screw."

Chris eyed Vern's burger and warned, "Vern, you really oughta turn yours over."

Vern, clearly tired of everyone getting on his case, snapped, "This is the way I like to do it!"

Chris shook his head and said, "Fine."

No sooner was the word out of Chris's mouth that Vern's hamburger slid off of his stick into the fire. We were all in hysterics, but Vern said, "This isn't funny, man! What am I supposed to eat?"

Teddy gasped through his screeching laughter, "Why don't you cook your dick?"

Chris laughed even harder, then intoned, "It'll be a small meal."

I just shook my head as I wiped my face clean of tears that had formed because I was laughing so hard. "Perverts. Both of you," I laughed.

Chris sighed and looked out at the forest. He turned to us. "Anyone up for a smoke?" he asked.

All the boys said yes. I shook my head. "Nope. Sorry, boys, but this one, I'm staying out of this one."

Teddy nudged Chris. "Hey, Chambers, is our dear miss Joey turning chicken before our eyes?" he laughed. I could tell that he meant it as a joke, and said, "No, Mr. Duchamp."

Gordie took a drag on his and turned to me. "You sure you don't want one, Joey?"

Chris whirled around to Gordie. "Gordie, she said she didn't want one, so just leave her alone, ok?"

We all sat there silently for a moment. Finally, I just said, "I, um… I bought something at Quidicello's for you guys." I reached into my sack where I kept my sleeping bag, and pulled out the magazines I had bought. All the boys cheered, and invited me to come sit with them as we flipped through the pages. I couldn't help but scoff, "Can you believe these girls?" I grabbed a particularly doe-eyed, wimpy one. "This chick probably couldn't run 500 yards if someone paid her to!"

The boys all laughed. Vern shrugged a little, the way he always did when he was about to say something that meant he kind of disagreed with me on something. "Still, Joe, you've got to admit, some of these girls are really pretty."

And you know what sucked? He was right. Page after page, he turned. Gorgeous girl after gorgeous girl. For some weird reason, the sickening feeling that Chris would never think of me that way kept nagging at my brain. Why was I caring about this so much? I mean, it was Chris, for crying out loud! He never had a bad word to say about anybody. Still, that little voice kept saying, "_You're ugly Joey… He'll never be in love with someone like you…"_

I shook my head, like I was trying to get rid of a migraine. I sat with the boys as they smoked the last of their cigarettes. "Nothing like a smoke after a meal," Vern sighed with satisfaction.

Teddy nodded. "Yeah. I cherish these moments."

I burst out into laughter that sounded eerily like Teddy's, and Gordie, Chris and Vern all burst into fits of laughter. Teddy just looked up and shrugged, "What? What did I say?"

Chris just shook his head, and then turned to Gordie. "Gordie, why don't you tell us a story?"

Vern piped up. "Yeah, come on, Gordo."

Gordie shrugged and stuttered, "I-I-I don't know."

I put on my best puppy dog face. "Please Gordie?" I whimpered.

Gordie blushed a bit, then nodded. Teddy and Vern gave me hi-fives, and Chris just looked at me and laughed. We then all gathered around Gordie as he began to tell his story.


	11. Chapter 11

I AM SO SORRY! I had writer's block like you wouldn't BELIEVE, but I'm baaaaaack. *cue creepy music* Also, the song at the end of this chapter is "The Great Pretender" by the Platters. Please, do read on!

**CHAPTER 11: FIRESIDE CHAT**

"The one I've been thinking about on this trip isn't a ghost story, you guys," Gordie started off with.

I let out a breath. "Thank God. I know I sound like Vern when I say this, but I just can't take another one of your horror stories tonight, Gordo."

Vern yelled, "HEY!" as Teddy, Chris and Gordie laughed. "What is this genius story about anyway, Gordie?" Teddy asked.

Gordie replied, "Well, it's about this pie eating contest, and the main character is this fat kid that nobody likes named Davie Hogan-"

"Like Charlie Hogan's brother! If he had one," Vern piped up.

Chris rolled his eyes. "Good, Vern." I couldn't help but laugh a bit. Chris noticed me laughing and… did I just see Chris Chambers blush? At ME? I must have imagined it, but when I looked back at him to check, Chris shook himself and responded, "Go on, Gordie."

Gordie obliged. "Now, this kid is our age, but he's fat. REAL fat. He weighs close to 200 pounds. But it's not his fault, you know, it's his glands."

Before Gordie could go any further, however, Vern interrupted yet again. I was starting to think interruptions were becoming old Verno's trademark. "Oh, yeah, my cousin's like that! Sincerely! She weighs over 300 pounds! It's supposed to be a hyboid gland or something. I don't know about any hyboid gland, but what a blimp! No shit! She looks like a Thanksgiving turkey! And you know, this one time-"

Chris finally said, as calmly as he could, "Shut up, Vern."

Vern suddenly remembered that Gordie was in the middle of a story and responded, "Yeah, right. Go ahead, Gordie, it's a swell story."

"Well, all the kids, instead of calling him Davie, they call him Lardass… Lardass Hogan. Even his little brother and sister call him Lardass. At school, they put this sticker on his back that says "Wide Load", and they pummel him and beat him up whenever they get the chance. But one day, he gets an idea… the greatest revenge idea a kid ever had…"

We all then became mesmerized by the tale of Lardass, and the Great Tri-County Pie Eat. Lardass had entered the contest, and this random dude named Bill Travis was hell-bent on beating him. How Gordie could come up with this stuff, I could never quite figure out. Of course, once it escalated into the climactic, ahem, "barf-o-rama", I quickly lost interest. I listened as the boys endlessly praised Gordie's story, and then I turned on the radio as the boys came over to where we had set up our sleeping bags.

Chris sighed as he sat on his sleeping bag, which was placed next to mine, and lit another cigarette.

"Something wrong, Chris?" I asked him. It wasn't very often he smoked two cigarettes in a period of half an hour.

Chris just shrugged. "It's just… I'm going to miss Gordie, you know? We've never been apart for more than a couple days since we were two." He then focused his eyes on me. "I'd miss you like crazy too."

Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God! Was he trying to make me fall even MORE deeply in love with him? "I'd miss you too, Chris. I wouldn't miss all your smoking, though," I teased him as I grabbed the cigarette out of his mouth and flung it into the fire.

Chris shook his head and smiled. "What am I going to do without you, Joey?" he laughed.

I put my hand on his shoulder. "You don't need to talk like we're never going to see each other again, Chris." I turned to the others. "Am I right, my good men?"

They all sort of nodded, but I could tell they were getting tired. I turned the volume on the radio down and listened as the soft music lulled me to sleep before any of the others. It's funny; I can still remember the words to the song on the radio: "_Oh yes, I'm the great pretender/ Pretending I'm doing well/ My need is such/ I pretend too much/ I'm lonely but no one can tell." _


	12. Chapter 12

I love everything about Cape Cod except for one: No Internet access. So, that gave me plenty of time to write more, and everyone who reviews, please keep them coming. DON'T LEAVE JUST BEACAUSE THERE WAS NO INTERNET ACCESS AT MY COTTAGE!

**CHAPTER 12: GHOSTS **

It was the howling that woke me up. It was so eerie, that I was really spooked. I guess all the other boys were spooked too, because all five of us sat up straight in our sleeping bags simultaneously.

"Did you hear that?" Vern whispered, petrified.

"It's his ghost!" Teddy whispered excitedly. "The ghost of Ray Brower!"

Chris held up the gun and looked around swiftly to check for any danger. Gordie knelt beside him. "What do you think it is, Chris?" he asked.

Chris said, "Probably coyotes."

Teddy said, "No way; it's his ghost."

Vern started whimpering. "Oh, don't say that." He then seemed to be pleading with the non-existent ghost. "I swear I won't read no more dirty books. I swear I won't say no more bad words. I promise I'll eat all my lima beans," he whimpered. Teddy mischievously snuck up behind Vern and tapped his shoulder. Vern yelled and turned around. Teddy just grinned and said, "Two for flinching," and he socked Vern twice in the arm.

I rolled my eyes. "Will you cut it out, Teddy?" I scolded him as I socked him in his own arm.

Chris said to all of us, "We should probably do watches. You know, just in case there IS a ghost."

I turned to him and raised my eyebrows. "Really?"

Chris laughed a bit nervously. "Of course, uh, there AREN'T… such things as… ghosts," he responded before shrinking back down.

I smiled. "It's okay, Chris." I then turned to Teddy. "Why don't YOU take the first watch since you're so convinced it's a ghost, Master Theodore?"

Teddy rolled his eyes. "Do you have to talk like a freaking 19th-century author all the time, Randall?"

I just laughed, "Just take the gun, go up against that tree and don't shoot us in our sleep."

Teddy grabbed the gun from Chris and walked over to the tree. "Rest easy, soldiers," he yelled to us as he cocked the gun.

I groaned. "How can we rest easy when YOU'RE holding a gun?" I mumbled before drifting off to sleep again.

*DREAMLAND*

_I was getting ready for a big dance at school. I looked just like one of those girls in the magazines I had bought. My brown hair wasn't in its usual ponytail, and fell in curls down to my shoulders. My blue eyes were complimented by a light, powdery blue dress that was strapless and stopped right below my knees. My lips were bright red, I wore a little silver necklace, and I had dark blue shoes. I thought to myself, "No way will Chris ignore me in this," and stepped away from my vanity. _

_It was then I heard a voice. "You will not be going to this dance, Johanna." It was a cold, monotonous voice. I turned around and saw that the voice belonged to… _

"_Mom?" I whispered, shocked. _

"_You think you can dress yourself up and have people think differently of you? They still would think you were nothing but a filthy little freak." _

_I shook my head. "No, no, Chris is different." _

_I watched as my mom morphed into Milo Pressman. "All the boys think you're a slut, Johanna." _

_I was getting scared. "No, not my boys. Gordie, Chris, Teddy and Vern all love me for what I am." _

"_And what you are is a-" _

_I cut him off by screaming, "NO!" _

*REAL WORLD*

"NO!" I screamed as I sat straight up in my sleeping bag. I was breathing heavily as I looked around. I was in the woods, by the fire. It was all a dream. The boys were all asleep in their bags. All of the boys, except Chris. He was poking at sticks in the fire and he abruptly turned and looked at me. "Joey, my God, what happened?" he asked, frightened.

I let out a long, shaky breath. "Nothing."

Chris put a hand on my shoulder and stroked it. "You were just dreaming, Joe," he said comfortingly. He took my chin in his hand and turned my face to his. "It was all a dream," he told me gently. He gently touched the tip of my nose with his finger and whispered, "Go back to sleep, okay? See you in the morning."


	13. Chapter 13

**CHAPTER 13: IT'S ALL FOR LOVE**

I watched him walk back over to the tree and slide down against it. He looked so sad, I just wanted to go over there and comfort him. I walked over to the tree and sat next to him. "I can't sleep," I cut him off when he opened his mouth to scold me for not going back to sleep.

"Hm," he responded before looking out in the forest.

"You know what you were saying earlier about me and Gordie going into the college courses?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, maybe you could enroll with us."

Chris scoffed. "That'll be the day."

"Why not, Buddy Holly? You're definitely smart enough," I responded. Chris really should have gone off for college courses.

Chris turned to me. "It's the way people think of my family in this town and the way they think of me; I'm just one of those low-life Chambers kids."

I had always hated that perception of the Chambers family, just because Chris had defied it to the nth degree. "That's not true," I responded matter-of-factly.

"Oh, it is," Chris said back. "Nobody even asked me if I took the milk money that time. I just got a three-day vacation."

A few weeks before school ended, Chris was the primary suspect for stealing all of the milk money at school. They had never really investigated it, but it was "clear" to everyone (except us, of course) that he had taken it. Still, I was the firmest believer that he hadn't taken it, even though he told me that he had. "Well, did you take it?" I asked.

"Yeah, I took it," Chris responded, as if that was the most obvious answer in the world. "You knew I took it. Gordie knew I took it. Teddy knew I took it." He sighed. "Everyone knew I took it. Even Vern knew it, I think."

I smiled for a moment, but then heard something shocking come out of Chris's mouth. "But… but maybe I was sorry and tried to give it back."

I turned to him. Did he really just say… "You tried to give it back?"

"Maybe. Just maybe. And maybe, I gave the money to Old Lady Simons and it was all there, but I still got a three day vacation because it never showed up."

I got the impression that every single "maybe" that Chris said meant "yes" in this little retelling. "Oh, God, Chris," was all I could say.

Chris went on anyway, getting angrier all the time. "And maybe, the next week, Old Lady Simons showed up to school with a new suit on."

Holy shit. "Yeah, yeah! It was brown and it had all the dots on it!"

"Yeah. So let's just say I stole the money, but Old Lady Simons stole it back from me. Just suppose that I told the story! Me, Chris Chambers, kid brother to Eyeball Chambers! No one would believe me, would they?"

I just whispered, "No."

"And do you think that that bitch would have DARED try something like that if it had been one of those preppy-ass kids from Fairview if THEY had taken the money?"

I shook my head. "No way!"

"Hell no! But with me?" Chris turned away from me again. All I could do was think, _How could this happen? Why would someone do something like that to an incredible boy like Chris?_ I put my hand on his shoulder, but he wrenched out from me. "Anyway, she saw her chance and she took it. She probably had her eye on that skirt for a long time anyway."

And then, I saw something I never thought I'd ever see in my life: Christopher Chambers started to cry. And not just a little misty eye sort of thing; he started to sob. "I just never thought… I never thought a teacher… Oh, who gives a fuck, anyway?" he choked through his tears. He then started to cry some more. I swear, I could literally feel my heart rip down the middle. And then, Chris whispered in his tear-ridden voice something that has haunted me for years:

"I just wish that I could go someplace where nobody knows me."

It was just too much. As Chris began to sob again, I pulled him into a hug and cradled him like a baby. I could feel his tears soaking my shirt. He turned his head up to look into my eyes. "I must be a big pussy, huh?" he cried softly.

"No, no," I whispered softly as I caressed his head. "You are a kind, brave, sweet, good young man. And you've just had too much shit happen to you in your life."

Chris sniffed and sat up. "It's funny. I, um… You remember back at the fire when I said I'd miss you and Gordie?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, I said that because… you're gonna meet new guys in the college courses. Smart guys. Well-adjusted."

I shrugged. "And…"

Chris rolled his eyes. "Joe, you and Gordie are going to have a better chance in life than me, Teddy and Vern are ever going to have. You're going to forget about us."

I shook my head. "Shut up, you're being a dumbass," I whispered as I hugged him again.

"I don't want that to happen, Johanna." Chris pulled away and took my chin in his hands. "You… you're the only real family I've ever had. You and the boys. I don't want that to go away." He shook his head. "Maybe I'm just being selfish."

"Christopher Joseph Chambers, don't you DARE ever think such a thing again," I spat out venomously.

He turned to me. "I probably shouldn't do this, since you're already pissed, but… I've always wondered what you'd look like without your hair in a ponytail. I mean, I saw that picture that Mickey painted, but I don't think a brown twig coming out of the side of your head constitutes as hair, if you know what I mean."

"I'm sorry, but before I shatter all preconceived notions of my image, I want to know why."

Chris looked at me again. This time, he moved a bit closer to me. I could see his eyes searching mine, but for what, I could not say. "Going for broke," he whispered.

"Wh-" I was cut off by feeling Chris's lips on mine. It had always been my dream to have my first kiss with a guy like Chris. The fact that it actually came from Chris came as a pleasant surprise. A trillion thoughts were all flashing through my mind at once, but the biggest one was, _Man, he's a good kisser. _

It almost felt like I was in a beautiful dream, watching it all happen. I could feel my hands move to his face, and his fingers stroke the stray curls on the nape of my neck.

Soon (MUCH too soon) Chris broke away. "Wow…" I whispered.

Chris nodded. "Yup."

We sat in stunned, awkward, post-first-kiss silence for a moment. I just didn't know what to say. Was I really just kissed by the boy of my dreams? There was only one way I could know for sure: "Chris, could you do something for me, please?"

"Anything, Joe."

"Can you pinch me?"

The two of us looked at each other for a moment, and then Chris burst into peals of laughter. "Oh, you liked it that much?"

"Why yes, as a matter of fact, I did! Don't laugh! Stop!" I yelled at him, while laughing myself, of course.

He smiled as he slung an arm around me. "So… will you take your hair out now?"

I whined, "Do I have to?"

"Not if you don't want to," he said hurriedly.

I giggled, reached up, and took my pony tail out. My hair fell down to my shoulders, and I shook it out. "Well, there you have it," I sighed.

Chris smiled and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. "Beautiful," he whispered.

"Did you just call me beautiful, Chris?"

Chris nodded. "You may punch me now if you wish."

"Oh, get your romantic ass over here," I said as I pulled him by his shirt into another kiss. I could feel him laughing, and we pulled away after too long.


	14. Chapter 14

**CHAPTER 14: TRUE BEAUTY**

Chris grinned. "I, um, found a picture in the magazine you brought, and I thought it looked like you, so… I ripped it out to keep."

WHAT? "Can I see it?"

Chris nodded and dragged a torn picture out of his pocket. It was a girl whose hair was held in a ponytail with a green ribbon, and her face was smooth, clear of all freckles. Her bright blue eyes were surrounded by thick black eyelashes, and she had a bright, happy smile. In short, she didn't look like me at all.

"Mmhmm. And how does this girl look like me, exactly?"

"Well, she has your eyes, for one thing. Her hair was up in a ponytail, which I know you always have. She has your smile; see her white teeth?"

Woah. "So, what you're saying is that… you think I look like one of those girls in the magazines."

"I don't think you look like one of those girls," he said as he put his arm around me once again. "I know you look like one of them."

I sighed. "I won't be able to fall asleep now, Chris. I hope you're happy."

"Why will you not be able to fall asleep?"

"Because I know that if I fall asleep, I'm going to wake up and find out that this was all a dream, and we didn't kiss, a-" Chris pinched my arm, REALLY hard. "OW!" I yelled as I rubbed my arm. "JESUS, WHAT WAS THAT FOR?"

"You refused to believe this was real life, erego, I had to pinch you to convince you of the immense reality of it."

I scowled. "First you kiss me, then you brutally assault me? Yeesh."

Chris laughed. "Joey, Joey, Joey. What would I ever do without you?"

I smiled. "All this time… and I never suspected it at all."

Chris kissed me on the cheek and said, "Well, I'm just full of surprises, aren't I?" He smiled and then said, "Go back and get some sleep, okay?"

To tell you the truth, I didn't want to leave him. I never wanted to let him out of my sight again. "Would…" I sighed. "Would it be alright if I slept here tonight?"

Chris smiled. "That would be heavenly." He then put his arm around me as he lay the gun far away from us. "Sleep tight, Joe," he whispered.

I lay my head on Chris's shoulder and whispered, "Good night, Chris," as I fell asleep, breathing in the scent of Winston's coming from Chris's shirt.

I had never experienced a night more beautiful, and I never have since.


	15. Chapter 15

**CHAPTER 15: THE ROYAL **

I woke up before any of the boys the next morning. For a minute, I thought I had been right the night before; it had all been just an amazing dream. But then, I heard, "Morning, sleepyhead," and felt a kiss on my head. Nope. Last night had not been a figment of my imagination; the guy I had been in love with for years had kissed me last night.

I looked up and smiled at Chris. "I woke up before you, so I really wouldn't talk, mister."

Chris smiled and held me closer. "You know something?"

"What?"

"I actually think we might be able to find the Brower kid today."

I sighed. "You think?"

Chris looked down. "Don't you want to find him?"

"Yeah, sure I do, but… I have a really strange feeling that somebody else wants to find him. More to the point, find him before we do."

Chris shrugged. "You may be right, Joey. I still think we have a pretty good advantage."

Just then, we heard peals of hysterical laughter coming from around the campfire. I moved away from Chris just the _tiniest_ bit. "They know."

"Oh yes, I can see that," Chris said. I could see him getting into battle mode to pummel them senseless. "Calm down," I commanded as I held his hands down. "I will talk to them."

Chris grumbled something and I walked over to where Teddy and Vern were nearly gasping with laughter. "WILL YOU TWO SHUT UP?" I screamed at them.

Teddy wiped a tear from his eye. "Oh my God, Joe. We never thought we would live to see the day where we would see you all feminine-like."

Vern piped up, laughing, "And all mashed up against a boy!"

Teddy and Vern then screamed with laughter again. I clenched my fists. "If you two little creeps do-" Then it hit me: I only said "two." I only SAW two. "Wait a minute… where's Gordie?" I asked.

Teddy and Vern stopped laughing for a minute. "I haven't seen him," Vern said.

Teddy shrugged. "Not since last night."

"Oh. Oh, well that's just peachy," I sighed. "I'm gonna go out and look for him." I turned to Chris. "Chris? Please, pummel these little sub-humans all you want. You can even throw in a little punch for yourself if you want."

Teddy and Vern started to cower as Chris advanced towards them, hands clenched in fists. I laughed to myself as I walked into the woods. "GORDIE!" I yelled. "GORDO, WHERE ARE YOU?" After a few minutes, I finally found him, reading the magazine I had bought on the railroad tracks. "Gordie, thank God I was looking for you forever!" I told him as I ran to sit next to him.

Gordie shrugged. "I'm sorry." He then looked me up and down. "Joe, why do you have your hair out?"

Oh shit. I was never going to hear the end of this one. "Well, if you must know, Gordon, um… I told Chris."

Gordie's eyes widened. "YOU DIDN'T!"

"Oh, I did." I then told Gordie all the events of last night. The only reason I told him was because I knew he wouldn't go blabbing it to anybody. Gordie listened intently. He had the same reactions that I had had when Chris told me about the milk money. After I had recounted all of the events up until Chris was walking over to beat up Teddy and Vern. By the time I was finished, Gordie was smiling. "Aw, Joe, congratulations!" he said, pulling me into a hug.

I smiled. "Now, what the hell were you doing out here so early in the morning?"

Gordie shrugged. "I tried to go back to sleep, but I wasn't that tired, so I picked up this magazine and decided to do some reading."

I eyed the page Gordie was on. It was a size 0 blonde swimsuit model on a pair of water skis. "Very deep, emotional reading, is it not?" I asked.

Gordie laughed and slugged me on the arm. "We should probably get back to Chris and the others, right?"

I nodded as I pulled my hair into a ponytail once again. "I don't want them mashed into a pulp, now do I?"

Gordie and I walked off through the woods. By the time we got back to the campsite, Vern and Teddy had red marks on their arms, but it didn't look like Chris had actually punched them. "Joey, your little boyfriend is a psycho," Teddy said flatly as he rolled up his sleeping bag.

I stuck my tongue out at him and responded, "He's your best friend too, you know."

We slung our packs over our shoulders and started hiking off again. Even though I had had my first kiss last night with the guy I had had a major crush on for a trillion years, things were awkwardly normal with me and the boys. We laughed, we joked, we insulted each other's mothers, we did everything we would have done normally. Finally, Chris stopped us short at a spot on the tracks. "Gentlemen and lady," he announced, "the Royal."

I couldn't believe it; we were almost there, almost at the body of Ray Brower. All of that craziness had led us here.

"The tracks go way out of the way," I commented.

"Why don't we just cut through the woods?" Teddy suggested.

"Sounds like a good plan to me," Chris responded. He turned to Gordie. "Gordie?"

Gordie was just staring out at the tracks stonily. Why stonily, I don't know. "Yeah," he responded.

Chris said, "Let's go!" and we all dashed off through the field in front of the woods. All of us, that is, except for Vern. He was just staying on the tracks, yelling, "Hey, guys, I really think we should… um… you don't know what's in those woods!"

I ran back, grabbed Vern by his shirt, and said, "Well, maybe you DO know what's in the woods, and you can help us!" I dragged Vern off of the tracks and caught up with the other guys. Once we reached the woods, we kept right on trucking. I could hear Vern and Teddy arguing behind me. "I hate this shortcut," Vern was protesting.

Teddy mocked him. "I hate this shortcut," he said in a nasal voice.

Vern moved in to punch Teddy. Teddy flinched. Finally, Verno got his moment of victory. "HA! YOU FLINCHED! TWO FOR FLINCHING!" he yelled. He prepared to punch Teddy, but Teddy punched him twice first.

Vern rubbed his arm and said, "But… but, you flinched!"

Teddy nodded. "I know. Two for flinching." He rolled his eyes and continued walking. I scowled at him. "Why don't you just let Verno have his fun, Teddy?"

Teddy shrugged. "I don't ever feel like it."

I shook my head and walked ahead of him. As we walked further and further into the woods, I just couldn't shake that feeling I had had the night before: the feeling that somebody was out to find the body before we did, and there would be danger if we even tried to stop him. Still, even with all my reservations, I was overwhelmed with a feeling of accomplishment; we were almost there.


	16. Chapter 16

**CHAPTER 16: LEECHES!**

I walked with the boys further, before we came to a large puddle of water. I mean, it was so big, it could have been a lake. "Well, how are we going to cross this?" Vern asked.

"We use you as a raft," Teddy responded.

"Oh, haha," I said. Chris grabbed a branch off of a tree and tested the water. "You know, it isn't that deep. We can walk across." We all walked into the puddle. Of course, we walked about a foot before we fell into dirty, muddy blackness. I started gasping for air as I struggled to get up to the surface. As it turns out, my foot was caught in Vern's sleeping bag, and I couldn't go up to the surface for air. I finally untangled my foot and came up, soaked through to the skin.

I saw all of the boys gasping for air. "Is everyone ok?" I asked, nearly out of breath.

Gordie nodded. "We're fine."

Vern stared daggers at us. "Told you we should have stuck to the tracks," he spat out. Literally. He got some on me.

Teddy slowly turned to him. "Is it just me… or are you the world's biggest pussy?"

Vern smiled sarcastically. "I suppose this is fun for you!"

Teddy replied, "No. But this is!" With that, he stuffed Vern under the water and laughed that Teddy Duchamp laugh.

"WILL YOU GROW UP?" I yelled at him as I pulled poor Verno up out of the water.

"Yeah, come on, man, act your age!" Chris scolded him.

Teddy replied, "This is my age! I'm in the prime of my youth, and I'll only be young once!"

Chris rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but you're gonna be stupid for the rest of your life."

We all went, "Ooooooh!" and Teddy yelled, "YOU DIE, CHAMBERS!"

After that, four of us, except for Gordie, ended up in a pile wrestling in the lake. Chris noticed Gordie inching slowly away from us and yelled, "Hey, where are you going, LaChance?"

Gordie responded, "You guys, I'm not really up for it."

We all looked at each other and screamed at the same time, "PILE ON!" We piled on top of poor Gordie. He kept yelling, "Come on, you guys, knock it off!"

"Sleeper hold! Nobody gets out of the sleeper hold!" Vern cackled evilly.

Gordie looked up at Vern and said, "Hey, Vern, there's something on your neck!"

Vern laughed, "I'm not falling for that one again, Gordie!"

We all looked at him and realized that Gordie was right. "No, Vern, there IS something on your neck!" Chris said.

"It's a leech…" Teddy murmured. He then shrieked, "**LEECHES!**" and we all dashed out of the water, screaming and crying. I quickly ripped off my shirt, unzipped my jeans and started ripping the leeches off of me. I heard Chris say, "Joe, hold on, there's some on your back!"

"Well, get them off, man!" I yelled as I turned so he could get the leeches off. I felt them come off my back, and Chris asked, "Are there any on mine?"

I nodded and said, "Just hold still." I managed to get all of the leeches off of his back when I couldn't help but think, "_Wow, Chris looks pretty smoking without his shirt on."_

I then turned to Gordie, who went, "Oh… Oh, Chris… Oh, shit, Chris."

I turned to Chris. "Do you think he has…"

Gordie then reached into his boxers and pulled out the biggest, bloodiest leech any of us had ever seen. Gordie took one look at the blood on his hands and fainted dead away.

We all ran over to him and tried to revive him. "Maybe he's dead," Vern gasped.

"He's not dead, he's still breathing, you idiot," Teddy chastised him.

"Well, I don't know!" Vern replied.

"Hey, hey, cool it, you guys, he just fainted," Chris silenced them.

A few seconds later, Gordie came to. He kept staring at my chest for some random reason. I mulled it over and then, it occurred to me that I was in my bra and underwear… more to the point, in front of Chris. I immediately ran away from the boys and hid behind a tree.

Chris yelled, "Joe, what are you doing back there?"

I yelled back, "Can you just throw me my clothes please?"

I could hear Chris sigh exasperatedly. "Come on, Joe. What's the matter, you embarrassed or something?"

"Um, YOU THINK?" I said angrily as I put my knees to my face. I had never in my life been so embarrassed!

I then heard the sound of footsteps coming over to me. Chris sat down and put a hand on my shoulder. "Joey? Joey, come on, look at me," Chris said as he took my face in his hand and turned it to him.

"Chris, don't look at me, please," I whispered.

Chris said, "Joe… I know why you're so embarrassed. It's no picnic for me being shirtless in front of you."

I looked at him confused. "But… but you look so GOOD without your shirt on."

Chris raised his eyebrows at me. I mumbled, "Sorry, I couldn't help it."

Chris laughed. "So, are you willing to come out and face the boys now?"

I rolled my eyes. "I knew that I would always regret the day that I made friends with a bunch of perverts."

Chris took me by the hand and led me over to the others. I let go of his hand and spun around in front of the boys. "Well," I finally said, a tad bitterly, "this is a once in a lifetime moment, gents." I grabbed my clothes and nodded to them all. "I hope you've enjoyed it." With that, I ran behind the tree again and got changed. As I changed, I could hear all the boys, except for Gordie, arguing.


	17. Chapter 17

And, the days of no power have come to an end on my street. On the bright side, I have received requests for a sequel (YOU LIKE ME! YOU REALLY LIKE ME! 3), and I would like you to know that I am working on that at the moment, sooooooo… read on, please!

**CHAPTER 17: FIGHT **

I could hear Chris saying, "Come on, you guys, we should really head back."

Teddy grew angry. "Oh, great, Chambers! We come all this way just for you to turn pussy at the last minute?"

I came out from behind the tree and said, "Hey, maybe one of us should just take Gordie back, ok? I mean, after that whole leech episode…"

Teddy glared at me. "Come on, Randall, you don't need to be such a wimp."

Chris shoved Teddy and said, "You don't talk to my freaking girlfriend that way, man!"

Vern shoved the two of them apart and said, "HEY! I think Chris is right; let's go back."

Teddy threw up his hands. "Oh, what a surprise! The king of the pussies wants to go home too!"

Vern brought his finger up and pointed it at Teddy. "Stop calling me that!"

Teddy cocked his head to the side. "Oh, what, pussy?"

"Stop it!"

"Pussy?"

"Shut up!"

"!" Teddy taunted.

Finally, Vern growled, "You four-eyed psycho!" and tackled Teddy to the ground. Chris and I nearly jumped on top of them trying to break it up. All of a sudden, we heard Gordie scream, "**STOP IT!**"

We all turned and faced Gordie, shocked. This wasn't the same Gordo we had left Castle Rock with only a couple of days ago. He stood up and said dramatically, "I'm not going back." With that, he picked up his sleeping bag and started to head off through the woods. We all stood in silence before Teddy picked up his bag, shoved Vern and said, "Idiot."

Vern scoffed, "Shut up, retard." Chris and I picked up our sleeping bags and headed off through the woods, following Gordie. Now, we were even closer. And somehow, I couldn't help but feel that danger was even closer than ever.


	18. Chapter 18

**CHAPTER 18: CRY, CRY, CRY **

As we walked along in the woods, we were all pretty silent. Every now and then, Chris would look over his shoulder and cast a smile at me, and Teddy and Vern would tease me about it, but it was all done in a very awkward way. Finally, we came to a clearing, and Chris called, "Teddy?"

"Yeah?"

"This the Back Harlow Road?"

Teddy studied it for a minute, then replied, "Yeah."

Chris nodded. "Why don't we all split up and search. Gordie and I can take over here, and Teddy and Vern can look over there."

I looked at Chris. "And where should I go?"

Chris replied. "You can stay here and let us know if anyone is coming."

Outwardly, I replied, "Sure thing, Chris." Inwardly, I thought, "No way in hell." The minute Chris's back was turned, I ran over to a place that was far away from both pairs of boys. I had looked on my own for a couple of minutes, and then I heard the yell from Vern: "I SEE HIM, I SEE HIM!" I immediately ran from where I was looking and stood by the boys. "Where?" I asked.

Vern pointed, and I noticed his hand was shaking. "There, over in the leaves," he whispered. I saw a Ked hanging by its shoelaces on a branch. Under there must have been the rest of Ray Brower. I could feel my heart pounding. I actually had to cross my arms in front of my chest because I felt like my heart would pound out of my body.

It was Chris who finally walked over to the bushes. He looked at us for a moment before he finally pushed the leaves away.

I had to turn away for a minute and let out a breath before I could bring myself to turn back around. He was the same age as the five of us, but he seemed so… young, lost and alone. His eyes looked so large and afraid. His face was all messed up with the cuts and bruises, and his mouth was still open a little bit, as if he were still screaming. I couldn't help it, but I then did something I had sworn to myself I would never, ever do in front of the guys: I started to cry. I cried almost as hard as Chris had last night, but a lot softer. I couldn't help but think that that little boy in the bushes with the eyes that didn't see and the heart that didn't beat could have been any single one of us.

A few minutes passed before anyone noticed me crying, though. Which I guess I was kind of glad about. Chris turned and saw me crying. He put his arm around me and whispered, "Hey, Joe, don't cry."

And then, Teddy, Gordie and Vern did something I never expected: instead of making fun of me, or teasing me for being such a girl, they actually comforted me. I guess we all changed a lot on that trip: I realized I wanted to be more than just one of the boys, Gordie became a little more assertive, Chris had become more open, Teddy (I didn't think it was possible, but) got a bit less crazy, and Vern… well, Vern was pretty much the same. One thing was for sure, the five of us weren't the same 13 year old kids who had left home yesterday. We were young men and a young woman. I might have been the only one who felt that change come over us so quickly, but still…

After the five of us broke out of our small, semi-group hug, Chris said, "Joey, you and I can get some leaves over there, and, uh, Teddy and Vern, you can grab some twigs and sticks." We all kind of uneasily went about our tasks. Chris kept holding my hand as we gathered up some leaves. Normally, I would have just shaken him off like it didn't matter, but now… it felt like I needed him there. All of a sudden, I felt Chris's hand slip away. I turned to see where Chris was going. Gordie was still sitting on the log, staring at Ray Brower.

"What's the matter with Gordie?" Vern asked incredulously as he and Teddy turned away.

"Gordie, are you alright?" I asked as I moved a little closer to him. Chris turned to me and whispered, "It's okay, Joe, I've got this." I shrugged and went back to gathering up leaves. I constantly had to force myself to not listen to their conversation. I had to hold down my tears as I heard Gordie weep, "He hates me, my own dad hates me."

I finally turned around and saw Chris with his arm around Gordie. He said, "You're gonna be a great writer someday, Gordie. Maybe you'll even write about us guys if you ever get hard up for material."

Gordie choked on his tears for a minute before finally saying, "I guess I'd have to be pretty hard up, huh?"

And that was that. I figured we could just take the body and leave. Maybe my sense of danger was off-kilter on that trip…. I was so wrong.


	19. Chapter 19

**CHAPTER 19: STANDOFF**

"Well, look at this, Eyeball," I heard that evil, soft voice comment. I was shaking as I turned around to face the he-devil known as Ace Merrill. I turned to Chris. "I told you so," I said lamely. "Girls are never wrong about danger."

Billy and Charlie came running into the woods and joined Ace and Eyeball. Billy noticed his kid brother and yelled, "Vern, you little son of a whore!"

Vern looked more terrified than he had the entire trip and out his hands up. "No! No, I swear, I didn't do anything!" He then ran off into the forest. I gulped. Ace took a step towards us and I stepped back. Chris said, "Come on, man. We walked through the whole goddamn forest to find him; we got dibs!"

Ace faked a scared expression. "Ooooh, I'm shaking now, Eyeball, they got dibs."

Billy piped up and responded. "Hey, we found him first, you little drips."

Teddy scoffed, "Yeah, Vern told us how you found him." He then began to speak in a high pitched voice. "Oh, Billy, I wish we never boosted that car," he said mockingly. "Oh, Billy, I just turned my Fruit of The Looms into a fudge factory!"

Billy yelled, "THAT'S IT! You- YOUR ASS IS GRASS!"

Ace held them back and said, "Hold it." Ace stared dead at me. I had been laughing at Teddy's comment, and I realized I was the only one making a sound after Ace had said, "Hold it." I shut up right away after Ace started advancing on me.

"What exactly are you planning on doing there, Ace?" I whispered nervously.

Ace pulled a switchblade out of his pocket, flicked it open, and pointed it at me. "You're dead, bitch."

I gulped. "Come on, you're not gonna kill me, Ace."

He stepped ever closer to me. Now, it seemed that everyone was starting to think Ace was behaving a bit rash. Even Eyeball gave a quiet little, "Ace, come on, man."

I closed my eyes and winced, making a mental note to give my last wishes to Chris and tell him I loved him. I could feel the cold blade against my skin when I wondered… _"Where was Chris?"_ All of a sudden, just as Ace was making a deep cut in my face, I felt the searing pain leave me. I dared to open my eyes and saw Chris tackling Ace to the ground and yelling, "THAT'S MY FUCKING GIRLFRIEND, YOU SICK BASTARD!" I quickly rushed forward and pulled the both of them apart.

Ace stood up and dusted himself off. He picked up the switchblade and then advanced towards Chris. "What do you say, Chambers?"

Chris stood tall and whispered, "Why don't you go home and fuck your mother some more?"

I could have smacked him right then and there. Why was he being so stupid? Teddy nudged him and said, "Forget about it, man, this is crazy!"

All Chris said was, "They're not taking him."

Teddy yelled, "HE'S GOT A KNIFE, MAN!" before running off, scared shitless himself. I squeezed Chris's hand and whispered, "Chris, give it up, please."

Chris turned to me, and I saw the angry, tough expression fade from his face. I winced as he touched the spot where Ace had cut me, and wiped the little blood there was away. "Joe, I can't," he said wearily.

I shook my head and ran off. I would have to make funeral preparations once we got back to town for Chris. I ran to where Teddy and Vern were hiding behind a tree. "Oh, God," I whispered as I slumped down against the tree.

Vern looked down and grabbed my hand. "Joe, you okay?"

I rolled my eyes. Did Vern not understand that there were more important things at stake here than some lousy little cut on my cheek? "Vern, I'll be fine." I then leapt up, but Teddy yanked me back down. "Where do you think you're going, Joe?"

"Where the hell do you think I'm going? I'm not gonna let my boyfriend die!" I yelled as I tried to wrestle out of Teddy's grasp. Just as the words left my mouth, however, the sound of a shotgun rang through the air. I gasped and crunched up into a little ball. "Please say that wasn't Chris," I whispered.

Thankfully, Teddy had looked out and responded, "No, it's… it's GORDIE! He… HE fired the gun?"

"WHAT?" Vern and I yelled at the same time. I jumped up and shoved Teddy out of the way. "Let me see!" I yelled as I ran a little closer to the scene. Gordie… OUR Gordie… was holding the gun in front of him. He seriously looked like he was about to kill Ace.

Teddy jumped up and ran next to me. We watched as Gordie cocked the gun, and whispered the words that pretty much summed up what happened whenever Gordie tried to be more assertive: "Suck my fat one, you cheap dime store hood."

Teddy and I looked at each other and burst into peals of silent, yet hysterical, laughter. Teddy was laughing so hard that he literally fell on the ground. Vern grew annoyed and asked, "What's so funny?"

I shook my head. "I'll tell you when you're older, Vern," I laughed.

Vern rolled his eyes and came up to the tree. "Hey, you guys, they're leaving," he said with relief. I immediately ran down to where Chris and Gordie were. "Oh my God, Chris, are you okay?" I said worriedly.

Chris shook his head and smiled. "Joe, I'm fine." He then wrapped me in a hug and whispered, "I'm sorry that I let him hurt you."

I whispered back, "You couldn't have known, Chris." Chris then pulled me into a kiss, whispered, "I should have," and kissed me again. Unfortunately, our tender moment was interrupted by a chorus of, "Ooooooooh!" and "Hubba hubba!" I broke away from Chris, tackled the others and yelled, "SHUT UP!"

After we all had stood up and dusted ourselves off, our minds grew serious once more. "We gonna take him?" Vern finally asked.

Gordie shook his head. "No." And in our hearts, we all knew that he was right: we should let Ray Brower rest in peace. We found a tarp and lay it over his body, deciding an anonymous tip would be the best move.


	20. Chapter 20

Before I begin this final chapter of the story, I would like to tell everyone that a sequel has been started, and shall be up once I finish the first few chapters. Also, I would like to thank every single person who has reviewed my story as of yet. And those people are:

mud-queen386

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All of you guys just made me so happy with your kind words, encouragement, praise and Stand By Me fangirl raving. Love you all! *blows kisses and throws smexy pictures of Chris Chambers to show appreciation*. Ok, one final thing, my sequel will be called "Chambers of My Heart", and will cover the adulthoods of all the gang. Happy reading!

**CHAPTER 20: AND IN THE END**

As we walked back to Castle Rock, we barely spoke of the trip. I had my own thoughts to mull over:

Chris had kissed me during the trip. On the lips. Not once, but THREE TIMES. I guess Mickey would be happy that the scene he had painted would come to fruition. I suddenly had a thought: why was I focusing on this kiss so much? I mean, sure, it was kind of special, but I was acting like… dare I say it… a GIRL. Was this the end of Joey Randall? What would I do after this trip? Was I going to morph into one of those magazine girls, like my mother had always wanted?

"_No_," that little voice inside my head said to me. "_Chris likes you just the way you are, Joe. So quit being so worried. You may be a tomboy for the rest of your life, you may not. It doesn't matter; just be yourself."_

It was one of those few instances in life where I actually listened to my inner voice. I stood a little taller as the five of us walked into town. Everything seemed a little different, though. The town seemed… smaller.

We walked for a while before we arrived at Vern's street. We stood in silence before Vern said, "Well, see you guys."

"See ya," Gordie, Chris and I said.

"See you in junior high," Teddy said as Vern walked away. Vern walked a few paces before bending down and picking up something. "Hey, a penny!" he said happily before running down the street.

The others and I just laughed as we walked a little further down the road. Once we got to Teddy's house, he said, "Well, I guess I'd better get home before my mom puts me on the 10 Most Wanted list."

I shrugged. "Guess so."

Teddy nodded and started to walk off. Before he did, he turned to Chris and asked, "Chris? No hard feelings, right?"

Chris shook his head. "No way, man."

Teddy gave a small smile before turning away and singing, "_Have gun, will travel, reads the card of a man/ A night without armor in a savage land…" _

Chris, Gordie and I smiled and walked out to our neck of the woods. As we were walking, Chris held my hand. I looked down at the ground and smiled. Chris Chambers was holding MY hand! When we got to the top of the hill near our tree house, we looked out at all the rooftops in our town. I thought about Ray Brower, and how he probably looked out at these very same rooftops just last week. The whole idea had seemed a million years ago.

Chris whispered, "I'm never gonna get out of this town, am I, Gordie?"

Gordie and I looked at each other. Why did Chris have to talk like that all the time? "You can do anything you want, man," Gordie said.

Chris just responded, "Yeah. Sure."

I said, "Well, it's the truth. The both of you are probably going to do so much. I'm the one that'll probably settle down, have a brood of children and keep my mouth shut."

Chris turned to me. "Joey Randall? Keep her mouth shut? Never," he laughed. He then asked, "Do you want me to walk you and Gordie home?"

I shook my head. "That's okay, Chris." I went in to kiss him on the cheek goodbye, but he turned his head at the last minute and kissed me on the lips. Thankfully, Gordie was mature and didn't try to ruin the moment. When we broke away, Chris walked over to Gordie and said, "Give me some skin."

Gordie gave Chris our group's classic hi-five, then gave him our classic goodbye: "See ya."

Chris smiled. "Not if I see you first," he said, and he turned and walked away. Gordie and I watched him walk into the distance. Before he walked any further, he turned and waved at the two of us. Gordie waved back, and I touched the brim of my hat before Chris turned and walked away.

When he was sure that Chris was out of earshot, Gordie led me along and whispered, "Joey and Chris, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-"

"SHUT UP!" I yelled at him as I chased him all the way to our houses. Once we finally got to our houses, we both collapsed on my front lawn, out of breath. Gordie said, "However much I tease you about it… I really am happy for you, Joe."

I laughed. "Thanks, Gordo." I helped him up and looked over at his house. I was worried about Gordie's father. "Are you gonna be okay? I mean, with your dad and everything."

Gordie looked at his house for a minute and then turned to me. "That total, complete, 110%, utter, absolute, positively complete asshole is just going to have to learn to be okay with me."

I felt tears well up in my eyes. My buddy Gordie was growing up. I gave him a hug and said, "Be careful."

Gordie laughed. "Silly Joe, when am I ever NOT?" He then ran off to his house. I stood on my lawn and looked around at my neighborhood. Castle Rock, Oregon, the day after Labor Day, 1959. I smiled to myself and thought, "_Mickey is going to fall off his chair when I tell him about everything." _

I heard, "DAAAAADDY, JOEY'S BACK!" I smiled and turned to face Mickey as he came running out of the house. "!" he yelled as he ran into my arms.

"Oh, M and M, I missed you so much," I said as I hugged him close. I looked up and saw my dad running towards me. I hugged him too, and he said, "I missed you, my little Molly Pitcher."

"I missed you too, Dad," I whispered, and the three of us just stood in the front yard hugging for about five minutes. Dad finally broke away and picked up my sleeping bag. "So, Joey, did you have any fun?"

Mickey started bouncing up and down in my arms. "Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! What happened, Joey?"

My dad whispered, "Joey…I know you didn't just go camping in that Tessio kid's back field."

I turned to him. "How…"

Dad smiled. "Chris ran over here and told me all about it before you and Gordie got here. I'm not mad at you, Joe. It's something I would have done."

I smiled. "Thanks, Dad."

Mickey, however, was confused. "What's something Daddy would have done?"

"Well…" I hoisted Mickey up, and as I walked into the house, I began to tell him the story; the story of the greatest summer of my life. "First, Chris told Gordie and me he had to show us something. And you know what that something was?..."

**THE END**


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